


Her Broken Smile

by orphan_account



Category: Batman: The Animated Series, DC Animated Universe, DCU
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Hurt/Comfort, Abusive Relationships, F/M, I wanted to write fluff of this pairing but also wanted to address the abuse, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 02:32:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7826800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr. Harleen Quinzel gave up everything for him-- and she would do it again in a heartbeat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Broken Smile

Her love for him hurt her. She loved him so much that it gave her headaches, and she loved him so much that she sometimes wondered if she wouldn't take a bullet for him, if one were to go flying toward his head. She liked to think that she loved him more than anyone had ever loved anyone else; they were like Bonnie and Clyde, wreaking havoc wherever they went and really, _truly_ in love. Mister J, The Clown Prince of Crime, her Puddin', the sweetest of the sweeties who would never do anything to hurt her even if sometimes he lost his temper and sometimes he just forgot how much he loved her; she liked to think that it was just how crazy he was, crazy passionate, and sometimes he lost himself in the moment and didn't realize what he was doing. He would never really try to hurt her.

She was naked, in the only way that really mattered, blonde hair down and face free of make-up. Her Puddin' was in the other room working, hatching some scheme for their latest prank against the B-Man, or maybe he had gone out at some point to do something, she was never very sure with him. She stared at her own blue eyes in the mirror, a small part of her remembering the respectable doctor that she used to be that still partially reflected in those eyes, before she giggled, laughed, cackled even, unable to contain herself as she looked at the person she was now. It took her a minute to settle, and she hadn't even noticed Mister J enter the room until he said something, resting his hands on her bare shoulders as he spoke.

"Harley," the way he said her name was bitter and yet somewhat curious, like he was about to ask her a rhetorical question that would almost certainly end in her getting hurt again, and Bud and Lou perked up in the corner at the sound, "have you forgotten your make-up again?" The way he worded it made her sound like yet another blonde bimbo, and she inwardly commented on how he didn't have to treat her like an idiot because she didn't paint her face for once. Instead she just grinned and laughed awkwardly at him, like trying to make it sound like she was amused despite it coming off like she didn't understand the punchline of a really funny joke.

"You see, Mistah J, I was just takin' it off for a minute, just for a minute, that's all!" She laughed more, eyes slightly wide as she stared at his reflection behind her.

The sharp slap to her face echoed through the room, and Bud and Lou started barking at the white-faced man who had just raised a hand to their Momma, but she shushed them and just grinned a slightly broken grin at him. Her broken smile was all that was holding her together as he glared, slapping her twice more before just growling and slamming his fist into the wall next to her head. "It's not funny, Harley!"

Almost immediately, her grin faltered, and she stared at him with a malformed frown, shaking her head. "N-no, most certainly not, Mistah J, I-I didn't mean to imply that it was funny." She tried to ignore the thin stream blood trickling down her chin from her lip.

He looked over at her, his face softening slightly, and she perked up a bit at the expression. He took a slow, almost gentle step toward her, wiping at her bleeding lip as he spoke, "Harley, baby, I'm sorry. You know that I just snap sometimes, I didn't mean anything by it. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

"Of course I can! I know you would never try to hurt me, Puddin', not really." He hummed his approval as she bobbed her head in a chipper nod. Bud and Lou had relaxed again, chewing on separate bones each the size of her leg as she beamed at her Joker, and she was practically glowing with excess glee as the Clown Prince of Crime pulled her blonde locks of hair together in an untied ponytail before simply letting them go.

"Right, right, yes, of course." He ran a hand through her hair again before moving it to her jawline, tracing along it before finding her cheek and tilting her head to look up at him, to look up at his face and into his eyes. "Harley, sweetie, pumpkin pie, can you do me a teeny tiny little favor?" Her smile was positively ecstatic as she nodded excitedly, and his hand moved from her face to pick up a pair of rubber bands from the dresser in front of her. "Never let me see your face like this again. Is that clear?" He had pulled her hair into pigtails as he spoke, and her face fell just a tiny bit as she nodded again, staring at her now pigtail-decorated reflection.

She lifted her hand from her lap, and she wasn't sure when it had gotten there, to pick up the white cream that usually covered her face, but he cut her off.

He picked it up instead, giving her a small smile, or at least a small smile for the Joker. "Here, let me help you with that."

Her heart fluttered a bit as he began to spread the face paint on her skin, even and slightly cold. Occasionally she would try to start up the conversation, but he would quickly dismiss whatever it was she was saying and tell her to shut up, or tell her that he needed her face to be still otherwise it wouldn't be evenly spread. At some point Lou had come and rested his head on her knee and started cackling in a desperate attempt for attention, and she buried her hand in the fur between his ears before gently scratching at the spot, ceasing his laughing for more of a pleased hum.

"There, all better! You look like a completely new person, Harley, I really like this new look a lot." He chuckled afterward, and she joined in with her own giggles. "Oh!" His laughing ceased suddenly, and she almost flinched at the sudden break in noise. "I almost forgot the most important part." She gave him a confused look, tilting her head to the side in confusion as she continued to pet her baby's head, before he told her to pucker her lips, causing her heart to jump. She quickly complied, closing her eyes and trying her best to resist the urge to smile, before he carefully traced her lips with black lipstick. "There you go! What do you think?" After smacking her lips together, she bounced up from where she was seated and pressed a barrage of excited kisses to his cheek, smears of black lipstick marking his cheek as he chuckled and tried to remove her.

"Oh Puddin', it's wonderful! It's really wonderful!" He grinned, wiping at the lipstick on his face, before opening his arms for a hug. She didn't hesitate to throw herself at him, and he let out a quiet wheeze before laughing, wrapping his arms around her thin frame and picking her up to spin her around, causing her to let out a high-pitched shriek and a long laugh. The babies started laughing too, and pretty soon they were a group of cackling idiots, the hyenas in different parts of the room on their backs and Harley a giggling mess in her Puddin's arms as they danced a disorganized dance around the room.

Dr. Harleen Quinzel gave up everything for him-- and she would do it again in a heartbeat.

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write this note for the people ready to rage in the comments. I didn't want to undermine the abuse or unhealthiness of this pairing by writing this, or make it seem like I thought what the Joker did-- and does-- to Harley is anything resembling alright. I will admit that the Joker and Harley Quinn are my guilty pleasure ship, but this does not mean that I in any way, shape, or form, condone domestic abuse or violence toward your partner in any way. I wanted to write for this pairing, and spent a lot of time trying to find a happy medium between the fluff and the abuse this pairing contains.


End file.
